GP leaders have called the situation 'extremely disappointing', and argued the requirements for recruitment have put many GPs off applying.

According to CCG board papers, many areas are now drastically cutting targets, in an attempt to meet them, while others are simply reporting low uptake and slow progress. These include:

NHS Wyre CCG board papers from October show the scheme ’saw a reduction in local target from 50 to 23, based on NHS advice, as the scheme is not delivering as anticipated’

NHS Birmingham and Solihul CCG board papers show it successfully bid £3.6m to recruit 100 GPs. But in May 2018, NHS England adjusted this target to ‘realistic 48 recruits’. As of February 2019, the CCG said three GPs have been recruited

NHS Great Yarmouth and Waverney CCG said in August NHS England 'revised the International GP Recruitment allocation which has been reduced to 41 GPs. This has left a gap of 39 GPs to find through other schemes'

NHS Ipswich and East Suffolk CCG said in September that it acknowledged the trajectory for international recruitment was 'overly ambitious' and reported that 'based on the initial performance, the target was revised down 40 starts over two years across the STP'

NHS Rushcliffe CCG board papers from November showed that although the scheme was heavily oversubscribed, progress was slow and to date there are currently no GPs working in Nottinghamshire, as a result of the international recruitment scheme

But despite the poor levels of uptake, the new five-year GP contract, published last week, announced the international recruitment programme will be extended until 2023/24 ‘to help deliver against the extra 5,000 doctors in general practice’.

The scheme, which was first introduced in Lincolnshire to address the local recruitment crisis, was rolled out in 11 other areas by NHS England: Humber Coast and Vale, North East, Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale, Staffordshire, Mid Nottinghamshire (Mansfield and Newark), Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk, Birmingham and Solihull, Kent and Medway, South East London, North East London.

So far, Lincolshire has seen the most advanced scheme, recruiting 26 international GPs against a target of 25.

Lincolnshire LMC medical director Dr Kieran Sharrock said: 'We managed to recruit more very quickly because we made a very good offer. These were doctors who knew they would need support passing the induction and refresher scheme and they also knew they would need support with passing their language skills and because the offer we made gave them both education and training, it was very attractive.'

But Dr Sharrock said he is not surprised CCGs are halving targets, arguing it 'hasn’t successfully recruited enough doctors' due to language requirements being too high, and labelling the recruitment model 'not appropriate'.

'To come and work in the UK, doctors in Europe need to have an IELTS level to 7 to 7,5. There are only a few doctors out there who already have that level, which is why we said we’re going to find doctors who have an IELTS level of 5 or 6 and train them up to 7.5.

'That opens the market up significantly because you’re going to find a lot more doctors who are able to apply,' he said.

'It’s the same as the calls to say we would have 5,000 more GPs in general, which was a very ambitious target. I think it’s all about the workload. We need to address the workload then people would want to be GPs in England,' she added.

An NHS England spokesperson said: 'NHS England has now recruited more than 70 doctors to the programme and, of these, over 50 are in the country either seeing patients or in observer placements and last week we launched a recruitment campaign in Australia.'

'NHS England has not set local targets but is actively supporting international recruitment,' they added.

Readers' comments (21)

There are just too may jeopardies. When you have a failing system you need to support it in all ways you can. These need not necessarily be financial. The previous behaviour of the CQC has a lot to answer for and the GMC have been appalling. It is as if they have no regard for the overall consequences of their over zealous approach. It is no good improving care and professionalism if by doing it you destroy the very thing you are trying to protect.
So obvious.

Because everyone thinks GPs are stupid they thought that overseas recruitment would be easy. What they forgot is that the top performers in school get into medicine in the first place. Trying to bribe them to work in a rubbish work environment is pathetic.

The main aim is to actually pretend to do something while the CCG staff gets paid to come up with more blue sky thinking sitting in endless meetings. Increase take home pay and conditions and there is no need for more useless creativity.

That's not 'targets' that were reduced, that is 'failure to achieve targets, so lets manipulate the data to avoid us looking bad , and cut the services instead' to save money!
I never liked the idea anyway, as UK-trained GPs are better at the job in the NHS than those who have not been trained in the job, and, sadly, do not know how NHS works, as many overseas graduates don;t.
To recruit trainees might be better?
Unfortunately, the job is so unattractive that retention would be still am ajor problem.

''To come and work in the UK, doctors in Europe need to have an IELTS level to 7 to 7,5. There are only a few doctors out there who already have that level, which is why we said we’re going to find doctors who have an IELTS level of 5 or 6 and train them up to 7.5.''
if you can compromise with the language then DROP THE CSA SCORES FOR IMGS to match !! lol

harry potter is fictional guys- just like the job advertisements - why not spend the money on the people you have instead and induce them to work for longer, with better working conditions, no pension caps and funding for a complete workforce in new buildings, oops gone creative fictional writing again, can I sell the movie rights?

Having returned from Oz after 5 yrs there(bloody wife didnt like the heat!!), I can categorically say that GP dom in the UK is utter s*** compared to Oz. And I was working in bulk billing ie state funded practice. I can't think of a single thing that was worse in Oz as a GP.Not one.
No-one from Chindia, Europe or anywhere else in the goddamned world wants to come to the UK to do medicine anymore, especially not GP.. and neither should they.
To anyone who can, get out now whilst young,go Canada, Australia, NZ whilst you still can and NEVER EVER COME BACK.